Doda de Miranda and AD Argos (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - The 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) concluded its third week of competition, sponsored by Adequan®, with a fantastic jump-off in Sunday's $34,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC). The win went to Brazil's Alvaro 'Doda' de Miranda and his 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, AD Argos (Padinus x Concorde)....

Emma Kurtz and Graffito (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Saturday morning in the E.R. Mische Grand Hunter ring, Emma Kurtz and Graffito kicked off hunter action on a positive note. The pair earned scores of 84 and 80 to finish first and second in the final two over fences classes of the Charleigh's Cookies Large Junior Hunter 15 and Under divsion. After two stellar jumping rounds, Graffito went on to win the under saddle and finish the day as champion. Giavanna Rinaldi and Bella Luna, owned by...

Will Simpson and The Dude take first in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Friday, January 22, 2015 (ESI) Thermal, Calif. - Competition in the Grand Prix ring is heating up at HITS Desert Horse Park, as Will Simpson stretched his streak to three with a win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix with Monarch International’s The Dude. Forty-one starters took to the SmartPak track but only thirteen left all the jumps up and qualified for the jump off. Simpson and The Dude, who won $7,500...

Candyland and Hope Smith (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Over two days of competition, Hope Smith rode her own Candyland to the Forré Fine Art Low Adult Hunter 2'6" Section A championship. The duo won three of the four over fences classes and placed third in the under saddle to finish a top the field of 32 competitors. Christy Powell and her own Savion finished the day as the Forré Fine Art Low Adult Hunter 2'6" Section B champions. The pair won both over fences classes...

McLain Ward and Best Buy (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Wellington, Fla. - Set amidst lush pastures, voluminous trees and a cloudless sky, The Ridge at Wellington Turf Tour ended the third of its 12-week series. Friday, McLain Ward and Best Buy would ride to the top of the leader board, tripping the timers in an untouchable 37.911 seconds, a second and a half faster than second place finisher Beth Underhill with Viggo. Riders were faced with 15 efforts in a challenging course designed by...

Molly Baumhoff and Esteban La Paz jump in the $1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix (ESI Photography) Thermal, Calif. - After her own success in the Devoucoux Hunter Prix, Hope Glynn’s day just got better when her student, Molly Baumhoff, riding Lauren Henry’s chestnut gelding, Esteban La Paz, took the blue ribbon in the $1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix. With scores of 84 and 86 for a total of 170, theirs was a dominating performance to win $450. Natalie Templeton took...

John Bragg on Laura Strasburg's Social Hour take first place in the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix (ESI Photography) Thermal Calif. - John Bragg left the show ring with a stack of ribbons after taking first, second, fourth, eighth and ninth place in the HITS Desert Circuit I $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix. The Rancho Santa Fe, California, native is no stranger to the HITS Thermal spotlight and claimed first place on Laura Strasburg's Social Hour, and second on his own Quesera. “It’s...

Peter Pletcher and Thanks for the Gold (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Peter Pletcher and Thanks For The Gold kicked off hunter action for WEF 3 in the Shapley's Grooming Products Green Conformation Hunters. Thanks For The Gold, owned by Rancho De Los Arboles of Oak Point, TX, topped two of the over fences classes, along with the model and under saddle, to finish the day as champions. Also turning in consistent performances over the two days were Having Said That ridden by Kelley Farmer. The...

Wellington, FL – United States dressage competitor Adrienne Lyle has announced the retirement of Wizard, her Olympic and World Equestrian Games partner. The 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Weltmeyer-Pica, Classiker) is owned by Peggy Thomas. Highlights of Lyle and Wizard’s long partnership include representing the United States at the 2012 London Olympic Games as well as at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, where they contributed to a fourth place team...

Adrienne Lyle and Wizard at Aachen in 2014 (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Wellington, FL – United States dressage competitor Adrienne Lyle has announced the retirement of Wizard, her Olympic and World Equestrian Games partner. The 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Weltmeyer-Pica, Classiker) is owned by Peggy Thomas. Highlights of Lyle and Wizard’s long partnership include representing the United States at the 2012 London Olympic Games as well as at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games...